Settling for Manual Labour
Some weeks back, I saw a tweet (X post) from a lady lamenting that male youths should please stop pushing to become influencers on social media because the country needs mechanics, plumbers, electricians, and many other hand work on the streets. I smiled when I came across the post, and honestly, that’s the reality we are already facing in the world today. These days, if your car tyre deflates on the road, you’ll have to walk extra miles before locating a vulcaniser—except you’re lucky to find one nearby. A good percentage of youths are no longer ready to learn or do handwork anymore. Everyone wants to become an influencer on social media where they can earn big while having fun online.
This same issue applies to the rate at which people are abandoning blue-collar jobs for white-collar jobs today. You know, our world system—or let me say the people—has succeeded in painting the picture that the best destination for a graduate is to get a job in an office under the AC. This makes everyone in school and most graduates see manual labour as work meant for the illiterate. I studied Civil Engineering for five years in school, and although we were involved in a few practicals, our target was to graduate and become the bosses who would direct people to sites, with the labourers (manual workers) under us doing the actual work.
So, when we see graduates who don’t want to settle for jobs involving manual labour, we shouldn’t blame them—it’s how the system has cultured the process.
Currently, I have friends who are graduates and are looking for jobs, and all of them are searching for office work. No one wants to settle for “less” because, to them, going into manual labour is considered settling for less. Okay, sometimes I suggest to them to venture into business with the little money they have, but to them, business also feels like manual labour—and that’s still “settling for less.” When such people have searched everywhere and can’t find something suitable, the next step is to become influencers on social media—where currently, the big money is.
Like I said, we can’t blame anyone. It’s just the way the world has turned out to be. Even I, when I graduated, never wanted to settle for manual labour. In fact, I traveled far and near in search of a good-paying office job, but I couldn’t land one. The few I got weren’t okay for me in terms of salary. Then my brain reset, and I had to settle into business.
Thanks for reading
That bit about walking far just to find a tyre guy hit hard.
Your right that the system trained us to chase chairs under AC, but the market pays for the hard stuff people avoid.
When you pivoted from civil degree to business because the salary felt off, that was a clean reset, I see the same numbers where skilled service plus honest branding can out earn entry office roles over a year.
Influence is cool, but likes don't fix a puncture, and a good mechanic can beocme the local hero with steady money.. :)
It's sad that is the way the system cultured us which is true. I hope many will see beyond it. It amazes me when people today still despide these blue collar jobs, not knowing that some of them, in most cases offer more than what a white collar job would.
Yes ooh, we are settling for manual labour, looking for white collar job job is now and those unemployed hardly want to go for blue collar job not after the years spent in school, thanks for sharing 👍
No one want to do stressful job again, but no matter what we need them in our society. Infact blue collar job pay more higher.